Dick de Zeeuw Lecture 2017 by Klaas van Egmond

Klaas van Egmond has read the 7th Dick de Zeeuw Lecture on Thursday October 19th, 2017.

ISS The Hague, Kortenaerkade 12, 2518AX The Hague.

The tragedy of the commons and the comedy of errors*

A globally sustainable economic system, including a sustainable food system is incompatible with the current structure of markets and finance, argues Klaas van Egmond. In the current financial system, the money which is created by private banks aims for the highest returns, often implying predatory exploitation. We need new institutional arrangements in politics, economy and finance in order to resolve the current crisis of social values. In order to be sustainable, a civilization must balance its value orientations between ‘mind’ and ‘matter’ and between the egocentric ‘I’ and ‘the others’ thus preventing very one-sided orientations This would allow an ethics on sustainability. If we want to make the world a more equal and better place, such a re-definition of our current ethical framework is a precondition.